5.1.1 and background data/battery life

Unlike others in this forum, my battery life on 5.1.1 (Sprint) has been significantly worse than before the update. In particular, my battery life on LTE took a huge hit. The built-in battery monitor was unhelpful, and my sync settings and disabled apps were all the same from before the update, so I didn't know what would have been making a difference.

Then I opened the "Data Usage" tab in the settings, and saw that many apps for which I previously restricted background data on mobile networks were no longer restricted. This included Sprint Zone, Sprint ID, Samsung Push service and several others, and there is also a new app in 5.1.1 called "Live weather" on the list. I went through and restricted background data on every app for which I do not need it (i.e. excluding streaming services, messaging apps, Google Now, email clients, my preferred weather widgets etc. that need background data to work) and disabled Live weather and some other new apps in 5.1.1 that I do not use.

Hopefully this tip is helpful for people experiencing excessive battery drain on mobile networks and those who optimized their device to their usage prior to the update only to find that things have gotten worse now.